Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs and the daily commute in Imperial
Working residents average 19 minutes each way (Pennsylvania 26, U.S. 26). Only 2% work in Imperial itself; outside it, Pittsburgh draws the most (19%, 14 miles). For 8% of workers, the job is at home; Pennsylvania has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Imperial at work: what stands out
Commutes from Imperial are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
40% of the jobs in Imperial are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The daily trip from Imperial: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Imperial workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,565 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The kinds of work in Imperial
828 jobs are based in Imperial.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Imperial, 2013 → 2023: 937 → 828. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Imperial’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Imperial on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,311 residents head out to work, 32 work right here, and 796 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Imperial on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.62 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Imperial ends
Where Imperial clocks in
19% of workers
10% of workers
9% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The distance from Imperial to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Next door to Imperial
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Imperial workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial | – | — | — | 19 min | $71,489 |
| Enlow | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Enlow: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Imperial’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Imperial: questions
What is the median household income in Imperial?
$71,489 (±$30,748) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Imperial?
3.5%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Imperial?
19 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Imperial work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (19%, 14 mi), Findlay Township (10%, 2 mi), North Fayette Township (9%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Imperial without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Imperial, from the people who make the trip.
More of Imperial
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.